In today's computing environment, a software service provider may want to provide multiple services to a user. In this environment, the user may need to access multiple application servers. However, the user may be required to sign onto each application server to obtain access to the multiple services. This creates a problem in that it may be tedious for the user to sign onto each of the different application servers. Furthermore, the user may need to manage different usernames and passwords for the different application servers, increasing the challenges of managing the sign on process.
Some solutions have been developed to provide a single sign-on experience. For example, some systems utilize a portal, where access to the multiple application servers is provided by the portal. However, some of the application servers may not be easily configurable to be included in such a solution, or a software system provider may want to decouple some of the application servers from the portal.
Furthermore, a user may need to access the different application servers through different applications, where each application may require a separate sign-on to access the application server. If each user application requires a separate sign-on to each of the application servers, an exponential combination of authentication methods is possible.
Therefore, there exists ample opportunity for improvement in technologies related to signing-on to multiple application servers from multiple user applications.